History of the Dodge Challenger Hot Rod
The Dodge Challenger is one of America's great muscle cars. Although it was only produced from 1970 to 1974, it left quite a mark on the classic car hobby. The first two years of production were spectacular, but the final three were not nearly as impressive. With emissions regulations and the Arab Oil Embargo, the muscle car era was over by the mid-1970s.
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Debut
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Chrysler introduced the first Dodge Challenger in 1970. It was very similar to the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, but the Challenger was bigger. Both were large, powerful muscle cars.
Body Style
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The Dodge Challenger was based on the "E body," a new car design Chrysler was using in the early 1970s. Dodge sold over 84,000 Challengers in the first year of production.
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Options
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The first Dodge Challengers were available in a coupe or convertible. There were many option packages and a rainbow of color selections.
Engines
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A buyer could choose from nine different engines. The smallest was a meager 145 horsepower; the largest was a Hemi with 445 horsepower.
Value
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Challengers in good condition from the early production years are quite valuable. They have sold at auction between $200,000 and $1 million.
Modern Version
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In 2008, Chrysler debuted a modernized version of the Challenger to compete with reissued muscle car designs by other manufacturers, including the Charger.
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